"Dress for the slide, not the ride."

That's a standard piece of wisdom that you must always remember when it comes to riding on two-wheels. Whether you're on a regular motorcycle or a superbike, it's crucial to prioritize wearing protective gear to protect yourself.

Arguably, the most crucial piece of protective gear is your helmet. This protects your head from impact, reducing the risk of fatal injuries should you fall or get into a collision.

Motorcycle helmets are pretty straightforward. The rigid outer shell houses a few layers of materials inside. This includes the padding layers for comfort, as well as a liner to absorb any impact to the helmet. For the front portion, there's a clear face shield that protects your eyes while helping you maintain visibility of the road.

Just like the rest of the automotive industry, even motorcycle helmet manufacturers are evolving with the times. These days, you can opt for high-tech motorcycle helmets that help you enjoy your ride even more.

Let's look at a few technologies that are already finding their way into motorcycle helmets everywhere.

Bluetooth Connectivity

Bluetooth technology isn't exactly new, but it's still worth a mention here. Bluetooth basically allows you to connect two devices over short distances. In this context, that would mean connecting your mobile phone to your helmet, which should have built-in speakers and a microphone as well.

This would make it very convenient for you to listen to music, listen to the directions from your phone's navigation app, and much more. Imagine being able to take a phone call through your helmet without having to rely on an additional hands-free kit! 

Of course, it's essential to keep things at a reasonable volume. On a motorcycle, you must always ensure that you can still hear ambient noises. This keeps you safer on the road if you can listen for dangers around you.

Built-in Navigation

Some motorcycle helmets these days also have built-in navigation features like GPS. This helps you save your phone's battery power since you won't have to rely on a navigation app on your phone. Depending on the helmet brand, this built-in GPS system could be operated in many different ways including voice activation. 

Voice Activation

With all this tech built into your helmet, it's no surprise that voice activation would be very useful for motorcycle riders well. Thanks to a tiny microphone inside the helmet, you can use your voice to activate the many different features that it may have. 

Using the example earlier, you could use voice activation to operate the GPS system to guide you to your destination. By using your voice, you can keep your hands on your bike and your attention on the road instead of having to blindly push buttons or operate any controls.

Heads Up Display (HUD)

Ever seen an Ironman movie? When Tony Stark is in his super suit, he's able to see all of the critical real-time information right in front of his eyes. This is called a heads up display or HUD, and it’s not science fiction!

HUDs are common in things like fighter jets. These days, HUDs can be affordably built right into the face shield of the motorcycle helmet. Just like Tony Stark, you'll be able to see displays right before your eyes. While you ride, you can monitor your current speed, navigation instructions, and much more from inside your helmet! 

Wireless LEDs

This is more for the exterior of the helmet, rather than the interior. Some motorcycle helmets include wireless LEDs. Alternatively, you could also purchase standalone kits to upgrade your existing helmet with. Having these lights on the back of your helmet keeps you safer on your ride because it increases your visibility. Other drivers will be able to see you clearly from a distance and will be able to navigate safely around you.

Best of all, some of these LEDs can also be connected wirelessly to a transmitter attached to your bike. Through this transmitter, the lights on your helmet can also synchronize with your brake lights and turn signals! So, whenever you signal left or right, the lights on the back of your helmet will blink accordingly.

Cameras

Car drivers aren't the only ones who get to enjoy cameras on their rides. Motorcycle helmets these days also enable riders to enjoy the benefits of having a continuously-recording camera system.

In some of the higher-tech motorcycle helmets, the cameras are built into the helmet itself. These cameras are always recording, allowing riders to capture footage for their own protection. On top of that, more high-tech helmets also rely on these cameras for data input. This data will be used for the heads up display and any collision avoidance systems the helmet might have built-in.

Even if you don't have a high-tech helmet with built-in cameras, you can also purchase aftermarket cameras to mount on your helmet. A famous example of this is the GoPro action camera. With a motorcycle helmet mount that's easy to buy, you can attach the camera to your helmet and have it record every second of your ride.

Just like a dashcam in a car, having a camera protects you in disputes. In the case of an accident, for example, the footage will help the police and insurance companies determine what actually happened.

If not for that, being able to record your rides will help you collect some really cool footage to show off to your friends!

Built-in vs Aftermarket

If you do a quick Google search on high-tech helmets, you may find some of them to be very, very expensive. Some of them may also be difficult to get in Malaysia The good news is that buying a high-tech helmet isn't the only way for you to enjoy some of these technologies on your next ride.

When it comes to motorcycle helmet technology, you also have the option of simply buying aftermarket upgrades for the helmet you already have. Aside from saving you money, this way of going about things allows you to pick and choose what kind of technologies you want your helmet to have. You'll save money since you won't be paying for any high-tech stuff you don't really want.

Looking online, you can find aftermarket upgrades for your helmet that give you a heads up display, Bluetooth headset and camera mounts. Heck, you could even get a small air-conditioning attachment for your helmet to cool it down on hot days!

So, which of these high tech solutions would you like for your motorcycle helmet?